This book provides a detailed, state-of-the-art overview of key observational and theoretical aspects of the rapidly developing and highly interdisciplinary field of exoplanet science, as viewed through the lenses of eight world-class experts. It equips readers with a broad understanding of the complex processes driving the formation and the physical and dynamical evolution of planetary systems. It juxtaposes theoretical modeling with the host of techniques that are unveiling the exceptional variety of observed properties of close-in and wide-separation extrasolar planets. By effectively linking ingenious interpretative analyses to the main factors shaping planetary populations, the book ultimately provides the most coherent picture to date of the demographics of exoplanetary systems. It is an essential reference for Ph.D. students and early-stage career researchers, while the scope and depth of its source material also provide excellent cues for graduate-level courses.

A brand new book in the bestselling NAUGHTIEST UNICORN series – the funniest unicorn books EVER! The perfect gift for Bonfire Night and Diwali – and for readers of 7+ and fans of The Worst Witch, Bad Nana and Pamela Butchart. it’s time for some firework festival fun at Unicorn School! But there’s only one problem… the fireworks are missing! But – this being Unicorn School – the fireworks are very special and magical, created by mysterious creatures who live behind the Fearsome Forest. It’s time for Mira, Dave and the gang to go on an adventure, find out what is going on and make sure that the sparkling, colourful, fizzing firework fun is returned to the festival with a BANG! Pip Bird is the pseudonym for a small group of brilliant and funny children’s book writers. They all believe in magic and dream of having a Unicorn Best Friend Forever. The Naughtiest Unicorn series: The Naughtiest Unicorn The Naughtiest Unicorn at Sports Day The Naughtiest Unicorn and the School Disco The Naughtiest Unicorn at Christmas The Naughtiest Unicorn on a School Trip The Naughtiest Unicorn on the Beach The Naughtiest Unicorn and the Spooky Surprise The Naughtiest Unicorn on Holiday The Naughtiest Unicorn in a Winter Wonderland The Naughtiest Unicorn on a Treasure Hunt

The spirits of the Shakers are still active in their historic homes, meeting houses, and on the land where they once toiled, prayed, and sang. Shaker Spirits, Shaker Ghosts offers ghost hunter investigations, haunted tales from White Water Shaker village in Ohio, walkthrough village reports from psychics, and an interview with a Shaker scholar. Thomas Freese was immersed in their music for ten years when he performed with the Pleasant Hill Singers. At Shakertown in Mercer County, Kentucky, he heard, then recorded, true tales from both visitors and employees of Pleasant Hill. Ghostly singing is heard in the Meeting House, children are scared of moving tombstones in the graveyard, spirit figures walk the village lane, and ghosts enter guest rooms. Are you ready to have an encounter with a Shaker ghost? We thought so.

This out-of-this-world kit for sci-fi lovers is loaded with special effects! It includes: -3-inch diameter spaceship, equipped with a hinged cockpit dome from which a curious alien peers, and featuring multiple light and sound effects: - By opening the cockpit dome and pressing the alien's head, sound of spaceship engine plays, followed by eerie pre-abduction music. Six blue lights around the spaceship flash in rotation. Additionally, two bright LED lights beneath the ship glow, casting a beam of light in search of a specimen to abduct. - When the spaceship is hovered in close proximity to the cow, a magnetically powered "abduction" occurs which simultaneously prompts new light and sound effects. Lights beneath the ship flash and music changes to a pulsating sound with intermittent cow mooing. - When cow is abducted and alien head is pressed again, sound of the spaceship flying away plays, concluding your invasion and shutting off the spaceship. - Miniature cow and faux grass mound - Transparent display stand to hover spaceship over cow when not invading the countryside - 32-page book, The Cow Abduction Chronicles, featuring full-color illustrations

Read 24 chilling ghost stories about reportedly true encounters with the supernatural in Iowa. A mysterious apparition that caught a ride to its own grave, the spirit of a witch that tries to lure children into the basement of an abandoned home, a love triangle that ended with three tragic deaths and one tormented ghost-Iowa is one of the most haunted states in America. This collection of ghost stories presents the freakiest, most surprising tales of the Hawkeye State! Authors Ruth D. Hein and Vicky L. Hinsenbrock grew up in Iowa. Both developed a fascination for things that go bump in the night. As adults, the professional writers spent countless hours combing the region for the strangest and scariest run-ins with the unexplained. Horror fans will delight in these 24 terrifying tales about haunted locations. They're based on reportedly true accounts, proving that Iowa is the setting for some of the most compelling ghostly tales ever told. The short stories are ideal for quick reading, and they are sure to captivate even the most reluctant of readers. Share them with friends around a campfire, or try them alone at home-if you dare.

Follow a paranormal investigator and medium via 23 haunting tales and mystical lessons throughout Canada covering over forty years of experiences-from innocent child to reluctant medium. From the poltergeist at the house on Albert Street to the demons in the garden at Hadlow Castle, the bludgeoned lighthouse keeper to the ghost of Anne Boleyn, from the spirit of a boxer to the apparition of a creepy cowboy, these stories offer a true-life chilling rendition of the supernatural that will not soon dissipate. Each tale includes a distinctive lesson providing information and assistance for those in similar circumstances, such as buying a house that turns out to be haunted, "sensitive" children, preparing for a haunted vacation, deceased visitors, dangers of spirit boards, UFO warnings, and more. Also included are four stories that connect experiences to the UK. If you were a skeptic before, be prepared to be a believer.

The present book by Hu Baozhu explores the subject of ghosts and spirits and attempts to map the religious landscape of ancient China. The main focus of attention is the character gui , an essential key to the understanding of spiritual beings. The author analyses the character gui in various materials - lexicons and dictionaries, excavated manuscripts and inscriptions, and received classical texts. Gui is examined from the perspective of its linguistic root, literary interpretation, ritual practices, sociopolitical implication, and cosmological thinking. In the gradual process of coming to know the otherworld in terms of ghosts and spirits, Chinese people in ancient times attempted to identify and classify these spiritual entities. In their philosophical thinking, they connected the subject of gui with the movement of the universe. Thus the belief in ghosts and spirits in ancient China appeared to be a moral standard for all, not only providing a room for individual religiosity but also implementing the purpose of family-oriented social order, the legitimization of political operations, and the understanding of the way of Heaven and Earth.

With 250 entries, this updated filmography and resource is the encyclopedic guide to all things lycanthropic and a fascinating compendium of comparative mythology and folklore. Delving into the 15th century to uncover the origins of the werewolf legend, it is an eye-opening, blood-pounding tour through the ages, landing on the doorstep of creatures like hirsute mass-murderer Albert Fish, Michael Lupo (Lupo is "wolf" in Italian), and Fritz Haarman who slaughtered and ate his victims-selling the leftovers as steaks and roasts in his butcher shop. The photos and drawings provide hair-raising evidence of strange and obsessional behavior through the centuries, and a helpful chronology of lycanthropic activities dates back 140,000 years to the first mixing of human and lupine blood. Werewolf hunters of all ages will appreciate the detailed section on slaying the beast, while potential victims will find the information on detecting and warding away the occasional wayward wolfman more to their immediate liking--if not need.

Uncover thrilling paranormal tales of Gold Rush ghosts, haunted hotels, shipwrecks, giant squid attacks, disappeared Russian explorers, a vanished bear hunter, Sasquatch, Kushtaka, and so much more. A collection of twenty stories showcasing the supernatural legends and unsolved mysteries of Southeast Alaska, with a focus on the region between Yakutat and Petersburg, where the author has lived his entire life, writing, teaching, guiding, commercial fishing, and investigating ghost stories. Each chapter is rooted in Bjorn’s own adventures and will intertwine fascinating history, interviews, and his reflections. Bjorn’s writing, sometimes poignant and often wickedly funny, brings to mind Hunter S. Thompson and Patrick McManus. Chapters touch on legends such as Alexander Baranov, Soapy Smith, James Wickersham, and the Kóoshdaa Káa (Kushtaka) to lesser known but fascinating characters like “Naked” Joe Knowles and purported serial killer Ed Krause. From duplicitous if not downright diabolical humans to demons of the fjords and deep seas and cryptids of the forest, Bjorn Dihle presents a lively cross-section of the haunter and the haunted found in Alaska’s Inside Passage.

Uncover thrilling paranormal tales of Gold Rush ghosts, haunted hotels, shipwrecks, giant squid attacks, disappeared Russian explorers, a vanished bear hunter, Sasquatch, Kushtaka, and so much more. A collection of twenty stories showcasing the supernatural legends and unsolved mysteries of Southeast Alaska, with a focus on the region between Yakutat and Petersburg, where the author has lived his entire life, writing, teaching, guiding, commercial fishing, and investigating ghost stories. Each chapter is rooted in Bjorn’s own adventures and will intertwine fascinating history, interviews, and his reflections. Bjorn’s writing, sometimes poignant and often wickedly funny, brings to mind Hunter S. Thompson and Patrick McManus. Chapters touch on legends such as Alexander Baranov, Soapy Smith, James Wickersham, and the Kóoshdaa Káa (Kushtaka) to lesser known but fascinating characters like “Naked” Joe Knowles and purported serial killer Ed Krause. From duplicitous if not downright diabolical humans to demons of the fjords and deep seas and cryptids of the forest, Bjorn Dihle presents a lively cross-section of the haunter and the haunted found in Alaska’s Inside Passage.

Patterned after the first volume published in 1964, The UFO Evidence, Volume II is much anticipated by the research community. The book reports 30 years of UFO sightings since 1964 with related data and descriptive features organized by category. Among the topics discussed are the now strongly established patterns of UFO sightings, the growing evidence worldwide that UFOs represent someone's technology, the history of government sponsored UFO investigations, and political and human responses to UFO sightings. The master chronology is an incredibly complete listing, which also refers the reader to pertinent sections in the book for fuller descriptions.

Should you believe in UFOs (unidentified flying objects)? If you question why the subject of UFOs should be taken seriously, this book provides that answer. Fascinating evidence, new perspectives, and detailed analysis, make this a thought-provoking study for those at every level of knowledge and belief in the UFO phenomenon. Through well-researched and convincing, documented insight, discover compelling individual and mass UFO encounters, giving you a direct appreciation of the possible nature and origin of this extraordinary topic. Learn about pilot and astronaut UFO experiences, strange encounters with UFOs, alien abductions, official government and military declassified UFO documents, and future directions and research needed to better understand the phenomenon. New viewpoints are provided through an objective investigation of the alleged alien visitations of earth and authenticity of the UFO phenomenon. Should you believe? Find out.

Through ten haunting stories, Skeleton Keys examines the true firsthand accounts of individuals facing the paranormal where they work. Read about happenings in a brewery where witnesses experience shattering glasses, a Lady in White, and ghostly singing. Learn about Realtors (R) dealing with stigmatized houses abandoned by their owners, unusual experiences of security personnel alone in darkened buildings all night, and more. Historic locations, old houses, and places to eat, drink, or rent a room are all examples of potentially active workplaces. Working anywhere can open doors to new experiences, but be warned, sometimes when opportunity knocks, it's not alone!

This extraordinary collection of essays is the first to approach the phenomenon of spirit possession among Jews from a multidisciplinary perspective. What beliefs have Jews held about spirit possession? Have Jewish people believed themselves to be possessed by spirits? If so, what sorts of spirits were they? Have Jews' conceptions of possession been the same as those of their Christian and Muslim neighbors? These are some of the questions addressed in these thirteen essays, which together explore spirit possession in a wide range of temporal and geographic contexts.

The phenomena known as spirit possession are both very widespread and very difficult to explain. The late Raphael Patai initiated study of spirit possession as found in the Jewish world in the post-Talmudic period by taking a folkloric and anthropological approach to the subject. Other scholars have opened up new avenues of inquiry through discussions of the topic in connection with Jewish mystical and magical traditions. The essays in this collection expand the variety of approaches to the subject, addressing Jewish possession phenomena from the points of view of religion, mysticism, literature, anthropology, psychology, history, and folklore. Scholarly views and popular traditions, benevolent spirits and malevolent shades, exorcism, social control, messianic implications, madness, literary structure, and a host of other topics are brought into the discussion of spirit possession in Jewish culture. This juxtaposition of approaches among the essays in this volume, some of which analyze the same texts in different ways, creates a broad foundation on which to contemplate the meaning of spirit possession.

Enjoy 11 spooky campfire tales based on legends and true events in and around the Great Lakes region. Filled with creepy and sometimes humorous details, each has historic significance. Shiver as you read about the ghosts in Duluth, Minnesota, haunting the Glensheen Mansion, and the myth of a giant moose terrorizing tourists off the North Shore of Lake Superior. Meet the Melon Head Creatures, living in a dark and forbidden forest off Lake Michigan, the result of a mad scientist's experiments, or a classic Lady in White. Discover the Manitous water gods, Native American spirits living at the bottom of the lake always looking for unsuspecting prey. Find a giant man-eating turtle, storm Hags, and the Red Devil of Detroit. Learn about Niagara Falls' Maid of the Mist, the real legend of the Edmund Fitzgerald, and the Michigan Dogman.

This book is about the varied life experiences of Geoffrey Ralph Wood born in rural Hertfordshire UK in 1926. Each chapter is complete in itself recounting a time period or theme. There is a rich mix of romance, grief, humour, hope and faith. He received no formal schooling from before the age of eleven but had the confidence to make life work whatever the obstacle. A simple quiet faith exploded into a vibrant spirituality by an out-of-this-world visionary experience at the age of sixty-six, which is the climax of Geoff's story. Geoff was the youngest child of four born into a farming community. Life was tragically disrupted aged four, when his parent's marriage ended. The family, of two boys and two girls, was divided and he moved with his mother and eldest sister to urban Newport S Wales. There were many changes of address. Farm life - horses - romance - employment situations - comic episodes - air-raids and three impressionable years in the army are remembered. In midlife his life totally collapsed; he lost his wife, home and employment. But he fought back with a natural faith and sense of optimism to rebuild his life in a brand new beginning. No children came but in 1993 aged sixty-six years old, after moving from N Wales to N Shropshire, he had a fantastic unsought for visionary experience that wonderfully and totally changed his life. Prior to this he had no religious background. He retired with his second wife Dorothy to Ellesmere Shropshire. This book is written to inspire hope and faith, with much human interest and a laugh or two

For centuries, the mountains of western North Carolina have inspired wonder and awe. It was only natural that man, after gazing at such scenic wonders, would turn some of the mystery he felt into legend. Sometimes these legends attempted to explain natural phenomena, sometimes they attempted to explain an occurrence that appeared to be supernatural, and sometimes they grew up around the eccentric characters that were drawn to the isolation of these mysterious hills. This collection of eighteen stories presents some of the mystery and awe that the mountains convey, and it may alter your perception of the Blue Ridge and Smoky Mountains forever. You may never stand atop Roan Mountain during a storm without thinking you hear a ghostly choir. You may gaze at the top of Chimney Rock during a hazy summer afternoon and wonder if it really is a ghostly cavalry fight you see. If you spend the night near High Hampton, you may find yourself listening for the call of the lonesome white owl. If you stand at Wiseman's View, you will probably think that you, too, can see the Brown Mountain Lights. Standing atop Clingman's Dome, you may wonder if there really is an enchanted lake where animals flock to heal their wounds somewhere in the valley below. And you will always wonder if the fly you hear on your mountain walk means that Spearfinger is lurking nearby. For several years, folklorists Randy Russell and Janet Barnett have taught a course about Southern folklore at the North Carolina Center for Advancement of Teaching in Cullowhee, North Carolina. Russell is also the author of several mysteries, including Edgar Award nominee Hot Wire. They live in Asheville, North Carolina.

Este libro es el resultado de mas de dos d cadas de profunda investigaci n sobre el misterio que encierran esas naves no identificadas llamadas OVNIS que han surcado los cielos en todas partes del mundo, estando presentes desde tiempo inmemorial en la historia de la humanidad. Testimonios y experiencias con seres de otros planetas, muchas de ellas tr gicas y aterradoras, vividas por personas que han confiado en la seriedad, profesionalismo y discreci n del autor, las comparten aqu por primera vez sin importarles ser catalogados como personas fantasiosas o con alg n mal mental. Roswell, Nuevo M xico, La Zona del Silencio, Chichen-Itz, el rea 51 en Nevada, El Pinacate Zona Volc nica entre Arizona y Sonora, son algunos de los muchos lugares que el autor, Miembro Activo y Field Investigator de MUFON (Mutual UFO Network) a visitado para obtener informaci n de primera mano... Rafael Sanchez Navarro es el autor de una teor a expuesta y explicada en forma sencilla aqu en este libro, teor a que esta siendo muy bien acogida en el mundo cient fico. El Embudo de la Energ a Pulsante, teor a que de comprobarse, explicar a el misterio que rodea La Zona del Silencio, ubicada al Norte de M xico. En este trabajo posiblemente encuentres las respuestas a todo aquello que quiz?'s alguna vez te dijeron que era solo "fantas a."

The Wild West is infamous for its outrageous stories, cowboys, and gun battles. But the region is also known for its ghost stories, unexplained deaths, bizarre murders, and peculiar burials. In Weird Wild West, author Keven McQueen brings together a fabulous collection of tales of the darker and stranger side of Texas, Oklahoma, Nevada, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Idaho, Montana, Colorado, Wyoming, Oregon, and Washington. Exploring mysterious deaths, true crime stories, and paranormal activity, this eerie collection uncovers long buried and disturbing stories of the region. Included are the unforgettable tales of the body-snatching of Billy the Kid, the revenge curse of a former deputy district attorney in Colorado, and the weird tale of Mr. Moon, who couldn't keep his dearly departed wife in the ground despite his best efforts. An intriguing, frightful, and entertaining exploration of the strange and gothic side of the Western states, Weird Wild West promises to send chills down your spine.

Originally published in 1978 Sea Serpents, Sailors and Sceptics looks at stories of folklore and mythology which have fascinated sailors from antiquity to the modern day. From stories of large unauthenticated sea creatures to the Loch Ness Monster, documented sightings are vast and the book provides a concise survey and review of the subject of ocean folklore. It shows how some large sea creatures, such as the giant squid, have been established and addresses some of the explanations of sea serpents and other sea creatures as now known, categorised species and offers a classification of these species that have formulated the mythologies of the sea throughout time. The book discusses how relatively little is known about the sea still and offers a practical look at the possibility that these mythological creatures, might in fact be, as yet undiscovered species. This book provides a unique interdisciplinary volume, crossing between the area of literature and folklore, and natural historians alike, and will appeal to academics working in the field of natural history and folklore alike.

On the Internet, seekers investigate anonymous manifestos that focus on the findings of brilliant scientists said to have discovered pathways into alternate realities. Gathering on web forums, researchers not only share their observations, but also report having anomalous experiences, which they believe come from their online involvement with these veiled documents. Seeming logic combines with wild twists of lost Moorish science and pseudo-string theory. Enthusiasts insist any obstacle to revelation is a sure sign of great and wide-reaching efforts by consensus powers wishing to suppress all the liberating truths in the Incunabula Papers (included here in complete form).

In "Legend-Tripping Online," Michael Kinsella explores these and other extraordinary pursuits. This is the first book dedicated to legend-tripping, ritual quests in which people strive to explore and find manifest the very events described by supernatural legends. Through collective performances, legend-trippers harness the interpretive frameworks these stories provide and often claim incredible, out-of-this-world experiences that in turn perpetuate supernatural legends.

Legends and legend-tripping are assuming tremendous prominence in a world confronting new speeds of diversification, connection, and increasing cognitive load. As guardians of tradition as well as agents of change, legends and the ordeals they inspire contextualize ancient and emergent ideas, behaviors, and technologies that challenge familiar realities. This book analyzes supernatural legends and the ways in which the sharing spirit of the internet collectivizes, codifies, and makes folklore of fantastic speculation.

This anthology explores the spatial dimension and politics of haunting. It considers how the 'appearance' of absence, emptiness and the imperceptible can indicate an overwhelming presence of something that once was, and still is, (t)here. At its core, the book asks: how and why do certain places haunt us? Drawing from a diversity of mediums, forms and disciplinary approaches, the contributors to Spectral Spaces and Hauntings illustrate the complicated ways absent presences can manifest and be registered. The case studies range from the memory sites of a terrorist attack, the lost home, a vanished mining town and abandoned airports, to the post-apocalyptic wastelands in literary fiction, the photographic and filmic surfaces where spectres materialise, and the body as a site for re-corporealising the disappeared and dead. In ruminating on the afteraffects of spectral spaces on human experience, the anthology importantly foregrounds the ethical and political imperative of engaging with ghosts and following their traces.